To Make Him Proud
by 42.Is.the.Answer
Summary: The day after the attack and their passionate time in the cabin, Dimitri (who was not taken) leaves Rose to guard Tasha. Fast forward fifteen years, and Rose is guarding Lissa and is one of the most well-known and lethal guardians in the Moroi world. What happens when Tasha, Dimitri, and his son, Alexei, come to the academy? Will Rose make Dimitri proud, and will she forgive him?
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Okay, so this is my second story, and I will try to give this and Swords and Masks equal attention. Yes, it's another "Dimitri leaves Rose for Tasha" story, but no, Dimitri does NOT have a kid with Tasha and no, Rose is NOT pregnant. I hope you enjoy._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy**

**Chapter One**

_RPOV_

I ran into the gym excitedly. Dimitri and I finally gave into each other yesterday and all I can say is "WOW." Best night of my life.

When I walked into the gym, Dimitri wasn't sitting on the bench reading a Western like he usually was. He wasn't even wearing workout clothes or his duster. Instead, he was stoically and stiffly standing, hands clasped behind his rigidly straight back. His guardian mask was on and he was wearing his guardian black and white uniform.

"What's up, Comrade?" I said lightly. "What's that stick doing up your ass?"

"Guardian Belikov," he corrected me, voice devoid of emotion. "Please show some respect when you speak to me."

I was shocked. "Err- yes, Guardian Belikov, sir," I said dryly, the title sounding odd in my mouth. I nearly grimaced.

"As of today, our training sessions are cancelled," he told me. I was shocked, once again. "You have caught up with your class and have perhaps surpassed you peers."

"Err- thanks?"

"Also, I have decided to leave my assignment here and will go to guard Lady Natasha Ozera. I have accepted her very generous offer and will be departing in one hour."

His words hit me and I was numb. What about yesterday? He said that he loved me, screamed my name, and now he was leaving me for _Tasha_?!

"What changed from yesterday, Comrade?" I asked him, "We were happy then."

"Yesterday was a mistake. A lapse in judgement," he replied calmly, his guardian mask never slipping. "My supposed '_love' _for you was only a petty attraction. Nothing more. Yesterday showed me that."

His words rang in my head. _Mistake. Petty. Nothing. _I was still numb from shock, but a dull aching was starting in my chest. "Then I guess I'll get going. See you, Comrade," I said, my voice wavering.

"I don't think that we will be seeing each other again," he said almost harshly, his tone cold. "Goodbye, Rosemarie."

_Rosemarie._ I hated that name and he knew it. I took a deep breath and it took all the control I had to stay calm and not run out the door. As soon as I was gone from his sight, I began to run and I knew that it was only a matter of time before the tears would come.  
_  
DPOV_

I dropped my guardian mask as soon as my Roza left the room. No, she was not my Roza anymore. She was Rosemarie to me from now on. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and sighed. Though yesterday had been perfect, like a dream, a wonderful gift granted to me straight from heaven, it was a mistakr. If I let it continue, it would mar Roza's reputation as a guardian. With graduation and assignments coming so close, I couldn't afford that, and neither could she.

I finally moved from my spot and made my way to the door, slipping my duster on. I stopped at my room and got my bags from the lobby where I had left them.

As I walked to the gates, I couldn't help but be sad that I was leaving. It hurt me to leave all this- the gym, Alberta, Rose- definitely Rose. It hurt me so much to be so cold to her, but she took it surprisingly well. No tears or anything, but then again, she had always been strong. I couldn't help but admire that quality of her.

I saw Tasha waiting at the gates by a silver Honda Accord. I opened the trunk and put my bags inside and then walked over to Natasha.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked her, holding open the door. She nodded and I kissed her on the cheek before she climbed into the passenger's seat. It was awkward and it didn't feel as _right_ as kissing Rose. But I had to forget Rose. She was my past, and Tasha is my future.

_RPOV_

__As I got back into my dorm room, the full impact of Dimitri's words hit me. I collapsed on my bed and began to cry, soaking my pillow. Yesterday in the cabin- it had been perfect. Then he shatters my world with these words. He was no better than the Royal Moroi who use dhampir women for sex, no better at all.

I took a few shaky breaths. Dimitri probably had a good reason for leaving. Even if he did use my for sex, he was still a good person over all. Just because he was gone didn't mean that I could stop living _my _life.

I wiped my tears away and changed out of my morning practice clothes. When I looked at what I was wearing I was between shocked and satisfied. I was wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt, the neckline barely exposing my collarbone and a pair of black baggy sweatpants. I looked... plain. Gone were my borderline slutty yet still attractive manner of dressing. Goner were my clothes that barely met the school's dress code.

I took a deep breath. Goner were my partying-snarky-sarcastic Rose days. I was a new Rose. One that would make Dimitri proud.

**_A/N: Okay, so there's the first chapter. I have three more written so at least one more should be coming up today, if not all three. R&R please!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! Oh, and sorry about the weird spacing last chapter!_**

**Disclaimer: I no own the Academy of Vampires.**

**Chapter Two**

_Fifteen years later..._

_DPOV_

I drove down the long road to St. Vladimir's. Tasha was sitting nect to me in the passenger's seat and my twelve year-old son, Alexei, was in the back seat. Tasha wanted Lyosha **_(A/N: Lyosha is one of the Russian nicknames for Alexei. Alexei may be refered to as Lyosha, Alex, Alexei, Lyoshka, and/or Lyoshenka in this story, as they are all diminutives of Alexei, Alex being the American one and the rest being Russian.) _**to go to school here instead of at St. Basil's back in Russia. She said that she wanted him to grow up with his "cousins", Rhea and Andre. Both of Christian's children were twelve as well, and they both went to St. Vlad's. Vasilisa was apparently heading the Spirit program there, a fact that made my heart leap. Wherever Vasilisa was, Rosemarie would be also.

Rosemarie Hathaway. Over the years, I've heard plenty about her. Her fame and skill had even surpassed that of her mother, and it was rumored that she had over thirty _molnija _marks and ten _zveda _marks, much more than me or her mother. It made me happy that she was doing so well in the world.

I drove up to the gates and stopped. The guardian confirmed our arrival and waved us through. Tasha had agreed to teach offensive magic here with Christian, so we would be permanently living here.

I sighed. Living in the same place as Rose again after fifteen years. This would be interesting.

_RPOV_

"Pleeease?"

"No," I said firmly. "I'm not letting you set me up with another guy. I'm done with dating. Besides, I'm thirty-two. I'm _old_."

"But come on. You're not _that _old! You haven't had sex in what, fifteen years? And you'll love this guy," Lissa added. "His name's Jared, he's a dhampir, he guards Christian, and he's tall with dark brown hair and green eyes. He even has an accent!"

An accent, eh? "What kind of accent?" I asked, as if it would make a difference.

"German?" Lissa said hopefully.

I sighed. "No, Lissa. I'm not going out with anyone, even if they have the cutest accent in the world. Now can you _please _let me get back to work? I need to look through the file of a new student Christian and I are supposed to train with _your _son. Apparently he's the tentative guardian for Andre."

Lissa pouted but agreed to leave. "Oh, and tell Rhea and Andre that I say hi," I called after her. She nodded and I turned back to my work. The new transfer student would be joining the middle school part and I was supposed to mentor him and train him to fight with a Moroi who would be using offensive magic. I took out his file and stared at it. I'd had it given to me a week ago, but I never got around to opening it. Shrugging, I opened it.

God no.

I reread the information again to make sure I didn't misread it.

**Name: **_Belikov, Alexei Ivan._ **Father: **_Belikov, Dimitri._ **Mother: **_Unknown. _**Legal Parent(s)/ Guardian(s):** _Belikov, Dimitri; Ozera, Natasha. _**DOB:** _8/16/2015. _**Species:** _Dhampir (D.P, M.M)_

Dimitri's son. Great. At least he didn't have kids with Tasha. That would've made me sick. I took a deep breath. Dimitri was in my past. He is now my studen't father, nothing more, nothing less.

**_A/N: Sorry this chapter's a bit short. Next one will be longer (I think)._**

**_~42_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Okay, so I guess some of you guys didn't get it when I posted this in the first chapter, but Alexei is NOT Dimitri and Tasha's son. You'll find out who Alexei's mother is later. Tasha and Dimitri are the legal guardians (as in caretakers/ parents) of Alexei, and therefore, he considers Tasha to be like his mother, because Tasha and Dimitri have been taking care of him since he was a baby. Also, Tasha is not going to be evil in this story. **_

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA**

**Chapter Three**

_DPOV _

"Papa, mne nuzhra pomoshch' **(Dad I need help)**!"

I entered my son's dorm room and saw him sitting on his bed. "Chto eto, Alexei **(What is it, Alexei)**?"

"Chto delat', yesli nikto ne govorit na russkom **(What if no one else speaks Russian)**?" he asked.

"Chances are, no one will," I said, switching to English. "But you speak English well, so why worry?"

"Igor said that my English was bad, and I saw a little girl at the airport who said that I spoke funny," he huffed. His voice had not yet changed completely and was still a bit high, but he had the same exact accent as I did. Like father, like son, I supposed. His accent wasn't that thick either.

"You speak great English, Alex," I told him. He frowned at his English nickname. "You have to get used to people calling you Alex. I know that you don't like being called Alexei, and chances are, your American peers won't be calling you Lyosha."

"Okay, Papa," he said.

"Tasha and I are in instructor housing; she's in 42B and I am in 16C. Feel free to visit anytime," I told him, kissing him on his forehead.

"Alberta said I needed a mentor" Lyosha- no, _Alex _huffed.

"Why?" I asked him. Alex was a great fighter. I taught him myself, just like I had taught Rose.

"Well, yeah, but they said I needed to learn how to fight _with _ a Moroi using magic," he grumbled.

"Hm. It's alright. Who's mentoring you?" I asked.

"Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway. Vy dolzhny znat' yeye, vy vsegda sprashivayut o tom, kak on yest', kak stalker pochti** (You should know her; you're always asking about how she is, like a stalker almost)**!" he laughed. My eyes widened. "Why do you care about her so much, anyways, papa?Do you know her from when you were in the States?"

"Yes," I mused. "I mentored her when she was at the Academy."

"You did? She must be good," Alex said.

"Yes, yes she is," I beamed. "She and another novice, Christian Ozera, fought together and took out the most Strigoi than anyone else there at the battle I told you about that was at St. Vlad's. I was second."

"Ozera. Is he related to mama?" Lyosha asked.

"Yes. He's Tasha's nephew."

"So he's my uncle?"

"Well, Lyoshenka, you have to remember that Tasha isn't actually your mother," I said.

"Close enough," he grumbled. "But wow, that's still amazing of Guardian Hathaway. And she was only seventeen?"

"Yes," I told him. "She already had two _molnija _and a _zveda _before she turned eighteen."

Alex's eyes were as big as saucers. "I can't wait to meet her! Do you think she'll show me her marks?"

"Maybe," I answered. "Just make sure you're polite." I smiled wryly.

"She doesn't have the best temper."

_RPOV_

I stared at the photograph and gulped. A little mini-Dimitri stared back at me. It was as if someone copied Dimitri's face onto his son's except for the eyes. While Dimitri's were chocolate brown, Alexei's were a lighter golden brown, but while he didn't have the Belikov eyes, he most certainly didn't have the Ozera ice-blue ones either.

His hair came to his shoulders, dark brown just like Dimitri's. He probably tied it back as well. I wondered who the mother was. It clearly wasn't Tasha- there was no part of that woman in him. I took a deep breather. I had a lesson with him in the morning; he would be joining Andre Dragomir. Because her family is dying out, Christian agreed to have their first two children be Dragomirs. Lissa and Christian were trying to get pregnant again with more little devils. I swear, Andre was just like his father- he had the Dragomir eyes but everything else was pure Christian Ozera.

I sighed. No matter what I told Lissa, I needed to have sex again. I'd been celibate so long I feel like a virgin again. Being celibate for fifteen years hadn't been easy, but it made my job as a guardian easier. No one else to get in the way of protecting Lissa.

I put the file back on my desk and left my office. I checked the time. It was about four and I had two hours until dinner. Enough time to beat up a couple dummies in the gym. I went back to my room and changed into a black sports bra and shorts. I jogged over to the gym, but I got a little surprise when I opened the door.

There was someone already inside.

_**A/N: Originally, this chapter and the next chapter were one chapter, but it was really long, so I decided to split it, but it isn't exactly split evenly, so bear with me. R&R**_

_**~42**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: Okay, next chapter coming up!_**

**Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Vampire Academy**

**Chapter Four**

_RPOV_

I took a closer look and saw that it was the one and only Dimitri Belikov. I bit my lip before taking a deep breath and heading over to stretch. He was beating up a punching bag, his hits perfectly timed. Sweat was dripping off his chin and running down from his hairline, but other than that, he gave no sign of being tired. He was so engrossed in his exercise that he didn't notice me until I took the punching bag next to his and then, smiling wryly, said, "Good afternoon, Guardian Belikov."

_DPOV_

I grit my teeth as I hit the bag again and again. I was going to have to rewrap my hands soon; the tape was pretty much worn through.

"Good afternoon, Guardian Belikov."

A familiar voice brought me out of my trance and I turned to see a guardian with long dark brown hair in a ponytail, the way I told her to wear it years ago, at the punching bag next to mine. Her brown eyes were warm but guarded and she seemed more mature than she was last time I saw her fifteen years ago.

"Rose," I croaked, slightly breathless, and not just because I was working out. The past few years have done her good- she was thirty-two now and looking better than ever.

"How have you been these past few years, Guardian Belikov?" she asked, using my formal title again. I winced.

"Good. And you, Roza?" I asked, using her nickname in an attempt to get her to loosen up and become the Rose I remembered and loved.

"I've been well," she replied, making no remark on the nickname. "I have something to ask you," she continued, never breaking her rhythm of punching.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"It's about your son, Alexei," she said. "I'm supposed to mentor him and help him in Moroi-Guardian fighting."

"Oh yes, Lyosha," I said. "What about him?"

"I need to know what he knows already," she replied.

"I've been teaching him and he has attended St. Basil's Academy in the past," I told her.

"Has he had any past experience with MGF?" she asked.

"MGF?" I asked, confused.

"Moroi-Guardian fighting," she clarified.

"No. I supposed that MGF grew more popular after you and Christian Ozera took out all those Strigoi at the battle here all those years ago?" I said.

"Well, that was what set it in motion. Then there was the attack five years ago, also on St. Vlad's. Christian and I had teamed up, as well as Mia Rinaldi and Edison Castile. Adrian Ivashkov and Li- Vasilisa Dragomir used compulsion to make the Strigoi hallucinate as well, so the offensive magic was pretty useful, and twp years ago, the Queen started a MGF program here to test it out, and it's required for all specialized Moroi and novices to participate," Rose recited off the top of her head.

"Well, I only have one thing more to tell you about Lyosha," I added.

"What is it?" she asked. "Does he have a medical condition or something?"

"No," I said quickly. "It's just that he is more comfortable speaking Russian, so perhaps you'd like for me to be present to translate, just in case."

Rose only laughed when I said this and stopped punching and clapped me on the back. "I'll see you around, Guardian Belikov," she said, smiling before leaving the gym.

I stared at her retreating figure, mesmerized. It was only after the door slammed shut that I realized that our whole conversation had been in fluent, flawless, and accent-less Russian.

**_A/N: So I hope you enjoyed this chapter; it's one of my favorites. So, Rose learned Russian in the past few years. Figures, seeing as she always wanted Dimitri to teach her to swear in Russian, and now she's fluent. I've been typing these chapters very quickly, so there might be a couple mistakes. Sorry if there are. I think I caught them all but I might've missed a few. Next chapter should be up soon._**

**_~42_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Okay, so this is the last chapter that I've already written. I'll be updating a lot less frequently (once a week?) now, like Swords and Masks. Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, though I wish that I did.**

**Chapter Five**

_RPOV  
The next morning..._

I got up at five-thirty and got dressed quickly, putting on a pair of black shots and tank top over a red sports bra. Putting my hair up in a high ponytail, I left my room, grabbing a chocolate doughnut from the box on my nightstand. I may have given up partying, but doughnuts are forever.

I got to the gym early, around five forty-five, and at five-thirty, Christian Ozera waltzed in with his son, Andre Dragomir.

"Rosie!" he bellowed. At thirty-two, I had to admit that Christian was pretty good-looking. He had messy black hair and of course, stunning ice-blue eyes.

His son looked pretty similar to him- he had the same messy jet black hair, but he had his mom's jade green eyes instead of his dad's ice-blue ones. Like all Moroi, he was pale, tall, and lean, but I knew that he had plenty of muscle on him. "Hey Aunt Rose," he said.

"Hi Christian, hi Andre," I smiled.

"Where's the new kid?" Andre asked.

"Alexei? I told him to come by six- oh yeah, there he is."

A very tall dhampir boy walked in. Seriously. Very tall. He was nearly six feet and he hadn't even hit his growth spurt yet. Yeah, he was that tall. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to his body and red shorts. If he were older, I'd declare him drool-worthy. But I was a little biased; he was definitely Dimitri's son. He was wearing a small duster as well and I almost snorted. Like father like son, as they say.

"Sorry I'm late, Guardian Hathaway," he said softly. God, his accent was indentical to Dimitri's, only his voice was higher. He looked up and I looked into his golden brown eyes. "Papa skazal, chto vy govorili na russkom yazyke . Vy ne vozrazhayete, yesli ya govoryu eto, khotya by inogda **(Dad said that you spoke Russian. Do you mind if I speak it, at least sometimes)**?"

"Konechno, net, Alexei. Tem ne meneye, Christian i Andre net, tak chto bud'te ynimatel'ny i postaraytes' ne ostavlyat' ikh **(Of course not, Alexei. However, Christian and Andre don't, so be considerate and try not to leave them out)**," I replied. "And it's fine, Alexei. Call me Rose."

"Thank you, Rose," he said. "You can call me Alex, if you wish." He finally saw Christian and Andre. "I remember you," he said, "You two were at my mom's Christmas party when I was five! You're Andre right?"

"Yeah." The two studied each other for a while before Christian clapped his hands together.

"Okay, everyone!" he said. "Let's warm up with three laps, then when you're done, thirty push-ups, seventy sit-ups, one hundred twenty squats, and one hundred fifty jumping jacks."

I raised a brow. He was going easy just because of Alexei. Once the two boys were out running their laps, I turned to Christian. "You do know that Alexei's last name is Belikov, and that his father has been training him prior to his coming to St. Vlad's, right? You don't have to go easy on him."

"I know. But I'm feeling nice today," he grinned.

The boys finished their warm up with a time of twelve minutes. Not the best, but not too bad either. We got them practicing basic punches and kicks and we had them spar each other. Alex was definitely his father's son- his fighting proved that to me once again. His moves and style mirrored Dimitri's.

The fight finally ended with Alex pinning Andre to the ground. Both boys were panting heavily and I watched as Alex pulled Andre up.

"Excellent, you two. Now, I'll have you guys start basic MGF techniques." I turned to Alex. "Andre is a fire user, so what you'll be doing will be very similar to what Christian and I do. Since we only have fifteen minutes until breakfast, Christian and I will demonstrate and then we'll teach one one form."

While I'd been telling the kids this, Christian had set up ten dummies in a circle and I went into the middle of the circle. Christian stood behind me, back to back, and we were both crouched down.

"Christian! Red ten!" I yelled and Christian proceeded with the form. He lit the heads of all the "Strigoi" on fire and I went on to stake them immediately after they were ignited. We were done in seconds. Alex and Andre watched carefully.

I clapped Christian on the back when we finished and walked over to the boys. "Each graduated MGF pair has their own code. The code the students here learn was the one Christian and I first came up with. This is not the code we actually use; it's just for teaching purposes. When you two graduate, you can devise your own code, but for now we're using this one. Right now, you'll be learning the 'Red' form."

Christian took over. "The code, 'Red' means head. The number after the initial code is the number of attackers you have. When the guardian says, 'Red,' the Moroi will, in this case, light the Strigoi's heads on fire and then, only after all the heads are lit, will kill any Strigoi that the guardian has not yet staked. As soon as their heads lighting distracts them, the guardian will then proceed to stake the Strigoi, the key being _no hesitation_."

"And don't forget," I said solemnly, remembering when my mentor had told me this, "If you can't fight them, run."

_**A/N: So this is most likely the last update until next weekend (unless there's no school tomorrow again). The chapter's a bit short so forgive me on that. Until next time,**_

_**~42**_


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Okay, first thing's first. I need to tweak some ages a little bit. I really liked the EddiexJill thing, and Mason Castile (he'll be mentioned in this chapter) is obviously Eddie's son, and he's the same age as Alex, who is twelve. So unless if I change her age, that would mean that Jill had a kid when she was 17. So Jill is going to be one year younger that the gang instead of three. 19 isn't much better than 17, but at least she's not a minor anymore. _**

**_Also, I'd like to stress that THERE IS NO MIRACLE LOVE-CHILD between Rose and Dimitri. _**

**_Enjoy!_**

**Disclaimer: I am not Richelle Meade. Enough said.**

**Chapter Six**

_ALEXPOV __**(yay!)**_

I finished showering after training and got dressed quickly, putting on a pair of dark jeans and a plain red t-shirt. Andre was getting dressed as well and had changed into khaki cargo pants and an emerald green t-shirt. I pulled on my duster and retied my hair back. I was going to meet Papa before breakfast. Papa said that Aunt Tasha had a meeting so she couldn't go with us.

I smiled at Andre. I liked everyone that I've met so far- my roommate, Mason Castile, was nice so far and he promised to introduce me to his friends.

"Are you friends with Mason Castile?" I asked Andre out of the blue.

"What? Yeah, I know Mase. Why?" he asked.

"He's my roommate and he said that he'd introduce me to his father," I replied.

"Oh yeah. You'll like the others. My sister, Rhea, might be a little annoying but not too bad. She's always rubbing it in my face that _she _was the one who inherited spirit and not me. I got fire instead, which is fine by me. Sure, I'd love to be able to super-compel someone but I think that setting people's pants on fire is good enough," he said wryly.

"Who else is there?" I inquired.

"Well, there's also Tanya Ivashkov. Oh, and there's Dylan Rinaldi. Whatever you do, don't mention his dad in front of him," Andre said in a whisper, "His mom got pregnant from a one-night stand and his father hasn't even bothered to help support them. It's not like they're poor and need the money, it's the thought that counts."

I nodded. "Okay. So that's you, Rhea, Mason, Tanya, and Dylan, right?"

"Yup. And now, you as well!"

I smiled. "Well, nice to meet you again, Andre. I guess I'll see you in class."

"You're not coming to breakfast?" he said, surprised.

"Probably not. I'm meeting my papa," I replied. "But still, see you in class!"

"Alright. See you later!"

I left the locker room before cursing in Russian and running back in. I forgot to get my copy of _Jubal Sackett_, the book I was currently reading by Louis L'Amour. I grabbed it and then ran out, only to walk straight into Guardian Hathaway- err, Rose.

"Privet Alexei! Vashe prozvishche Lyosha, ne tak li? Vy ne vozrazhayete, yesli ya pozvonyu tebe eto **_(Hi Alexei! Your nickname is Lyosha, right? Do you mind if I call you that)_**?" she greeted.

"Da, eto, Roza. Vy mozhete pozvonitʹ mne, yesli khotite. Spasibo za obucheniye segodnya. Eto bylo ochenʹ veselo. Kak my obucheniya vo vtoroy polovine dnya **_(Yes it is, Rose. You may call me it, if you wish. Thank you for training today. It was a lot of fun. Do we have training this afternoon)_**?" I asked.

"Net, no u nas zavtra utrom i dnem. Udachi v vashikh klassakh , i skazhi svoyemu ottsu, chto ya govoryu privet **_(No, but we do tomorrow morning and afternoon. Have fun at your classes and tell your father that I say hi)_**," she replied. She saw my book and smirked. "Westerns? Just like you father," she half-muttered in English. "But I suppose I should've expected it, with your duster and all. Like father, like son."

I smiled. I liked it when people said that I was like Papa. He was strong, fast, and a badass guardian, though I suppose not as much as Rose, but still. "Goodbye, Roza!" I called on my way out of the gym.

She looked surprised and sort of… wistful. "What did you call me?" she asked.

"Roza," I said, confused. I stopped. "It's your name in Russian!" I called back.

"I know…" she trailed off. She suddenly went back to normal. "Well, have a nice day, Lyosha!"

I smiled and mock-saluted at her before running out of the gym to meet my papa.

**_A/N: Okay, so it's kind of short. What do you think, though? He called her Roza! :)_**

**_~42_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: Thank you for all your phenomenal reviews! Also, to the Guest that reviewed last chapter, it's still somewhat of a miracle because it's never happened before. _**

**_I'm so sorry that I didn't update sooner! :( I've been busy. Don't kill me!_**

**_Also, honestly, the identity of Alex's mother isn't that exciting. It's in this chapter, but seriously, I don't want to get your hopes up. It's quite minor, and his mother isn't even a VA character. So don't get too excited about it. It's not important. And I know that a one-night stand isn't really Dimitri's style, but hey, a guy has his needs. Funny how Rose stayed celibate five times as long as Dimka… you'd think that it'd be the opposite._**

**_P.S. Loved your idea, AllieAussieBritishMuffin, so here it is! Hope you enjoy!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA. I wish I did. **

**Chapter Seven**

_DPOV_

I waited for my son to come to my room before breakfast. He burst through the doors and smiled sheepishly.

"Prosti, ya opozdal , papa **_(Sorry I'm late, Papa)_**," he apologized. "YA razgovarival s Rose. YA lyublyu yeye do sikh por. Ona ochenʹ khorosha **_(I was talking to Rose. I like her so far. She's very nice)_**."

I smiled. "Vy delayete ? Eto khorosho. YA rad, chto vy lyubite yeye . Mozhete li vy skazatʹ, chto ya treniroval yeye **_(You do? That's good. I'm glad that you like her. Can you tell that I trained her)_**?" I asked.

"Malo. Ona skazala mne to zhe samoye vy skazali mne o zapuske. YA ne videl yeye borʹba yeshche tolʹko v MGF, no ona namnogo bystreye , chem vy **_(A little. She told me the same thing you told me about running. I haven't seen her fight yet, only in MGF, but she's a lot faster than you)_**," he said a little sheepishly.

I laughed. "She's faster than me, eh?" I asked in English. "So she's surpassed me."

"Not really. She's amazing, though."

"She is, isn't she," I mused. I looked at my son's book. "How's your book? Are you enjoying Louis L'Amour?"

"Yeah, he's great!" Alex replied. "Thanks for recommending him to me!"

I laughed. "I thought that you'd enjoy him. How did Rose react when she saw you reading it?"

"Her eyes widened for a second. She was acting a little weird when I bumped into her when I went to get my book. I called her Roza; do you think that was the cause?" Alex asked innocently.

I felt my chest tighten at his comment. I took a deep breath, looking my son in the eye when I said what I said next. "Rose and I," I started, "We were… involved. Roza used to be my nickname for her. My pet-name, if you will."

"You dated Rose?" Alex exclaimed. "I thought you were her mentor. And wasn't she underage?"

"Yes and yes," I replied, wincing.

"Wait- did you guys, you know, have, well, sex?" he asked timidly.

I felt my face go red and my spine stiffen. "Y-yes," I coughed.

"Papa! You could go to prison for that! Doesn't that count as statuary rape or something?" he admonished.

"We were deeply in love. I loved her very, very much," I defended myself. "And why do you know about statuary rape?"

"I think I read it somewhere…" he said, looking away. "Vy do sikh por ? Lyubite yeye , ya imeyu v vidu **_(Do you still? Love her, I mean)_**," he suddenly asked.

"Da. YA tak dumayu. Net, ya ne somnevayusʹ. YA lyublyu yeye tak, tak **_(Yes. I think so. No, I have no doubt. I love her so so much)_**," I said fiercely.

"Togda pochemu vy menya **_(Then why did you have me)_**?"

I bit my lip. "You, to put it bluntly, you… you were an accident. You were the weird 0.01% that somehow made it through a condom _and _birth control. It was just a one-night stand with a Moroi I met in a bar. I even forget her name. she didn't tell me until after you were born. She left you at the doorstep of the house Tasha and I lived in with a note explaining. I got a paternity test afterwards and well… you were mine."

I looked down, a little ashamed of myself for being so reckless. I'd told Alex before that his mother was a one-night stand, but I never told him this much. It was somewhat uncomfortable talking with my son about a one-night stand I had, even the one that he was the product of.

The night of Alex's… creation was the first- and last- time I'd ever had a one-night stand. Very soon after I left to guard her, Tasha and I tried to have sex, but it didn't work out. She and I both realized that we'd mistaken our love to be romantic and sexual, while it was actually more familial. Then, three years later, I was well… horny and needed to find release in something other than my hand, so I went to a bar and had sex with one of the Moroi women there. And, well, the rest, as they say, is history.

_RPOV_

I was still a little shaken and Alex's words came echoing back. _Roza, Roza, Roza. _Each was a stab to my heart, a reminder of a love lost and faded.

I walked over to the cafeteria and saw the table where the kids were sitting. I smiled. Though none of them were mine by blood, they were all as close as, if not closer than, family. Love and loyalty run deeper than blood, as I've heard.

"Hi kids!" I greeted them.

"Aunt Rose! Are you teaching today?" Mason asked.

"What do you mean? I always teach," I said, confused.

"I meant Stan's class. Are you taking over?" he asked.

"No. He's better now and can teach," I told him. "He got over his _mysterious _bout of numbness around his mouth and can now speak clearly enough for us to understand him, although he still mumbles a bit." I had no doubt that Mason had a hand in doing it. Just like the old Mason, this one was funny and devious, who liked to prank people as much as I did when I was little.

"Dammit!" he cursed. "I thought that the Novocain would have lasted longer!"

"So you did do it!" I said in sort of an "Ah-ha!" voice. "And watch your language, dammit!" I added, before realizing that that was unfair to say because one, I just swore and two, I'd been swearing since the first grade. Probably before, actually, considering that Lissa and I became friends after I called our kindergarten teacher a fascist bastard. But seriously; you try spelling out _Princess Vasilisa Dragomir _and _Rosemarie Hathaway_ when you're five. It's not easy, and I kept on forgetting how many a's there were in _Hathaway_, and Lissa was the same with the i's in _Vasilisa_. "Why is it so bad that Guardian Alto's back, anyway?" I asked, the title sounding funny in my mouth. Even after all these years, I still preferred Stanny-boy or Stanna Montana. Stan and I had had an antagonizing relationship while I was a student. After I graduated, we got over our differences and became friends, and even fifteen years later, it felt surreal.

"Therzaprojitdoothaeyehavntfi nishd," Mason mumbled.

I smacked him playfully.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"What's it on?" I asked.

"Civilian dress versus uniform wear while guarding in human-occupied areas," he told me.

I frowned. "That's not too bad. What haven't you finished?" I asked.

"Everything."

I groaned. "Mase! You know, you would be at the top of your class if you actually did your homework and projects! Your test scores are good and your fighting is superior to most others! I'm sure that your parents say the same."

Mason grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Anyway, I'm supposed to type up a three-page minimum essay with at least eight paragraphs on it. Can you help?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Ask your dad. He'll be delighted."

His face paled. Mason frequently got into trouble with his father, Edison Castile, one of my old friends. Eddie didn't understand why Mason did so poorly on his schoolwork and though their relationship wasn't as strained as mine and my mother's, it definitely wasn't the easiest. I was quite a bit closer to Mason than Eddie was.

I sighed. "Mason, I'm sure you can finish it. Work on it during lunch. It's an easy enough subject and you're smart."

He looked down. "Dad said that if I got another C minus he'd make me get a tutor," he mumbled.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Mase, you can do it. Just let your inner-nerd come out and you'll get an A plus. I promise." I kissed him on the forehead and ruffled his dirty blond hair.

I looked at the rest of the kids. "I'll see you," I said, looking at Mason and Tanya, "At physical training. And I'll see the rest of you," I said, extending my gaze to include Dylan, Andre, and Rhea, "at MGF. Have a nice morning, and I love you guys!"

"Bye, Aunt Rose!" they called after my retreating form. I smiled to myself. I loved the kids. They were like my own. Like the kids I'll never have.

**_A/N: Again, I'm soooooo sorry for neglecting you guys! You got a look at Rose and Mason's relationship, and a glimpse into Eddie and Mason's. And just to prevent any possible flames, Eddie is so harsh on Mason because in a way, though he is his son, Eddie also sees Mason as a second chance for Mason (Ashford) to sort of live on, and he sometimes forgets that Mason (Castile) is not Mason (Ashford). That being said, he's also very strict because he wants the best possible future for his son, like Janine did for Rose. _**

**_~42_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Okay, so to make up for updating late, I'll give you another update! I had no school today, anyway, and I have nothing better to do… _****(-_-) **

**_Thank you for the 27 reviews; they rock my world. So without further ado, here's the next chapter._**

**Disclaimer: If I said that I owned Vampire Academy, Richelle Meade would sic Rose and Dimitri on me. I like living, so I will say this: I do not own VA- happy now, Dimka? ****_*Looks behind shoulder nervously.*_**

**Chapter Eight**

_DPOV_

Lyosha and I finished breakfast and I kissed him on the forehead before he left. "Have a good first day," I told him.

"Spasibo, papa. Uvidimsya posle urokov ostalisʹ v proshlom **(Thank you, dad. I'll see you after classes are over)**," Lyosha replied. I really needed to get him to start speaking English at home.

Alex left the room and I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Alex should do fine here, and from the way he talked about them, I was assuming that he already made friends with Andre Dragomir and Mason Castile.

Feeling that I should go to the gym, perhaps spar with a few guardians, I changed into red shorts and a grey t-shirt. I took my hair down and put it up again, making sure the strands were secure in the tie. Slipping my duster on, I jogged on over to the gym.

The gym was full of guardians, most gathered around the sparring ring. I couldn't tell who was sparring in the middle, so I decided to ask the guardians I recognized, such as Emil, Celeste, and Daniel.

"Hello, Dimitri!" Daniel called.

"Hello, Daniel," I greeted him. "Very busy in here, huh?"

"Yeah. It's always like this whenever Rose is here to spar," he laughed. "Man, you did a great job teaching her, she's like better than you now."

Apparently he was talking quite loudly and head turned in our direction.

"Is that Belikov?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

I turned and saw Edison Castile in the ring being pinned down by Rose. He was breathing very hard, yet Rose was barely sweating. "Hello, Edison," I called up. "Are you alright up there?"

"He's fine, Comrade," Rose answered with a smirk. "But he's 'dead' now, so how about you come up here? See how your student's evolved, eh? What do you say?"

"Yeah, go up!" Emil cheered. "No one's taken down Rose since she graduated. She even beat Alberta without breaking a sweat a week after graduation. Show 'er her place, will ya?"

I nodded and took my duster off, handing it to Daniel. "Good luck."

"Celeste, dial Lissa's number right now. We might have to call her soon," I heard a guardian jeer. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. The other guardians knew that I was a force to be reckoned with back when I was assigned here. If they were that sure that Rose could "take me down," then she had to be good.

I stepped into the ring. "What are the rules?" I asked.

"Everything's legal, but no attacking above the shoulders and no attacking the groin. If you step out of the ring, you're 'dead.' If your opponent 'stakes' you, you're dead. 'Staking' can only be done if the person being staked is pinned on the ground," she explained.

"Fine by me," I replied, beginning to circle her. She smiled.

"Let's dance, Comrade."

_RPOV_

I circled around the ring, never breaking eye contact with Dimitri. I pulled a little darkness, as I always did before a fight. I was getting a little tired too; I'd sparred with eleven guardians already in the past hour.

I closed my eyes for a moment to relish in the newfound power the darkness brought me. I heard the slightest rustle of movement and my eyes snapped open to see Dimitri lunging at me. I sidestepped out of the way effortlessly and he fell to the ground. I stood over him, contemplating whether or not I should pin him down and end it there.

_No, I want to be able to play with him for a while._

I let Dimitri up and we continued to circle each other again. Dimitri tried attacking me three more times, each one failing. I didn't do anything to try to "stake" him yet. I wanted to drag this match out.

"Why aren't you attacking, Roza? Are you scared of me?" Dimitri taunted with that amazing accent of his.

"You want me to attack? Fine then. I'll attack."

_DPOV_

"You want me to attack? Fine then. I'll attack."

I got that sense of dread in my stomach and I instantly regretted my words. With speed worthy of a Strigoi, she suddenly charged forwards at me, but every step was controlled.

"He's dead," I heard someone mutter. Before I knew it, there was a fist flying at me, connecting with my solar plexus and knocking the wind out of me.

I panted, trying to regain my breath as I jumped back up. Rose and I were matched, punch for punch, kick for kick. The Strigoi-like speed was gone and I was slightly confused, and wary.

"See? We're even," I panted, ducking a punch.

"No. We are most certainly not even," she said quietly, so quietly that I wasn't sure if I'd imagined it.

A split-second later, I was on the ground. Rose was straddling me and she had her hands on my chest, over my heart, "staking" me and making me "dead." She was still breathing normally while I was gasping for breath. How did she surpass me by so much? And her speed and strength- they were Strigoi-like and honestly, they scared me.

"You're dead, Comrade," she whispered, before climbing off of me. I sat up and she extended a hand down, and I took it. She pulled me up and clapped me on the back, like something another male guardian would do. "Excellent job, Dimitri. I'm impressed. You've improved over the last few years."

"I'm getting old," I replied. "I'm an old man now. I'm nearly forty now."

Rose laughed, one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard. "As am I, Comrade. As am I."

Around us, I was vaguely aware of applause.

"Awww, better luck next time, Dimitri!"

"Told'ja she'd kick his ass!"

"Great job, Rose!"

I smiled and stepped out of the ring and walked over the water fountain. I got a nice, long drink and sighed in relief. Rose had gotten so much better after I left. Maybe it was a good thing that I left her after all. The distraction I posed to her was too great, and once I left, she got over it and managed to surpass all her classmates, and eventually, her superiors.

"Dimitri."

I turned around and saw Rose standing behind me. "Hello, Rose."

"I wanted to talk to you about your son."

I felt my heart sink a little bit. "What about Alexei?"

Silence. The moment dragged on, the only sound being the other guardians laughing and training.

"He's a lot like you," she said simply.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, for starters, he looks like you, he acts like you, he talks like you, hell, he even dresses like you! It's like someone cloned you, Dimitri!" She looked at me, raising a single brow.

"You learned how to do that?" I asked her.

"I've learned a lot in the past fifteen years," was her reply.

"Figures," I said under my breath. "Russian, fighting, and now my eyebrow trick."

She laughed again. "Not _your _trick anymore, Comrade," she said. "Anyway, I was wondering. Christian, Lissa, Adrian, Sydney, Eddie, Jill, Mia, Andre, Rhea, Tanya, Mason, Dylan, and I were all going to go out this weekend. The girls want to go shopping and the guys are tagging along to get some stuff as well. We'll go out to dinner afterwards as well. Do you, Tasha, and Alex want to come along?"

"Jill?" I asked, confused.

"Jillian Dragomir," she said.

"Who? Lissa has a sister?" I asked again. I was puzzled.

"Well, half-sister. She used to be Jillian Mastrano," Rose added.

"Oh, her. She was pretty quiet," I remembered, thinking of the girl.

"You could say that," Rose replied. "So, you in or out?"

"Is it safe?" I questioned. "There are seven Moroi with a human and five dhampirs, three of which are novices. Are sure that it will be adequate? If Tasha, Alex, and I join, then there will be eight Moroi, a human, four novices, and three guardians. That's not much better," I told her.

She smiled wryly. "Comrade, you really haven't been keeping up with me, have you?"

I felt my cheeks redden. "Well, I've tried, but it's not that easy considering that I'm in Russ-"

She cut me off. "Look, Dimitri." She lifted up her ponytail and showed the back of her next to me. It was literally _covered _in marks, molnija, zveda, and a promise mark.

"Bozhe, skolʹko tam **(God, how many are there)**?" I breathed.

"Sorok dva molnija i vosemʹ zveda **(Forty-two molnija and eight zveda)**," she answered back in Russian.

"Forty-two?!" I exclaimed.

"Lissa and Jill get attacked a lot," Rose replied. "And if you still don't believe that I'm good, then you can go ask Queen Tatiana. There's a reason why I'm head of the guardians at Court even though I'm across the country from them."

"I thought Hans Croft was in charge," I said, sounding stupid to myself as well.

"He died in the fourth attack on Court, which I think was six year ago. Idiot; he shouldn't have tried to take Nathan on by himself. I mean, come on; Nathan was like seven centuries old and Hans, frankly, was getting old." She looked up, a little sadness in her eyes. "He got injured and couldn't be saved. But he survived the other three, that's pretty good for an old man."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'other three;' you mean there were _more_?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah. In the past fifteen years, there have been five attacks on Court and two on St. Vlad's. You missed them all, Comrade. Not that we needed you. Sparky and I made a great team, though you and Tasha could've helped a lot as well," Rose said, partly to herself. "But yeah. So do you still think that there aren't enough guardians?"

"Nope," I said quickly. "We'll come; Alex and I. Tasha has another meeting with Kirova."

"Great!" Rose replied. "I'll see you and Alex, then. Tell Tasha I'm sorry that she can't come, and I guess I'll see you around."

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek before walking away, winking. I stood there, frozen. This Rose, she was just like before, but a little different as well. She seemed much more mature and a little less playful. And her fighting; it seems like she's surpassed all of the other guardians. Her strength and speed rival a Strigoi's. I'm pretty sure that she's more famous than Arthur Schoenberg ever was.

Whatever happened, I think that I could assume that it was good.

**_A/N: Okay, so another chapter finished. What do you think about Rose's accomplishments? Pretty impressive, right?;)_**

**_I promise to update soon. _**

**_~42_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: Hi all!_**

**_You get another AlexPOV today! Lucky you. Also, thank you for the reviews, they are awesome. I know that technically, compared to other really popular stories, that I barely have any reviews, but since I'm still fairly new, it makes me really happy to get them._**

**_By the way, I forgot the order of classes so I'll assume that novices have classes with Moroi in the morning and specialized ones later._**

**Disclaimer: The Russian God, Little Dhampir, or any other VA characters or concepts don't belong to me, but I DO own Alex! (But he's kind of the same as Dimitri so maybe not…)**

**Chapter Nine**

_APOV (Alex)_

I checked my schedule. It was already eleven fifty, one more class until lunch. So far I've had Grade Seven Moroi Culture, Honors Algebra I, Grade Seven Language Arts, and Slavic Art. I was headed to Grade Seven Biology right now. I had this class with Andre, Rhea, and Dylan. I had all my morning classes with Andre, probably because he was most likely to become my charge, and I had three of them with Rhea, two with Dylan, four with Mason, and three with Tanya. After lunch, I have Middle School Guardian Combat Techniques 2, Middle School Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 2, Weight Training and Conditioning, and Middle-School Moroi-Guardian Fighting 2.

I walked into the Biology room and took a seat next to Andre. Ms. Meissner was our teacher. She also taught Animal Behavior and Physiology to the upperclassmen. She's been teaching her for twenty-some years. At least that's what Andre told me.

The class was fairly boring- all rules and reviewing the syllabus. The forty-five minutes went by and we were dismissed with the assignment of making a chart of the Five Characteristics of Life with definitions and examples.

I packed up my backpack and left the room with Andre, Rhea, and Dylan. We met the others at the cafeteria at our usual table.

"So, Alex, how do you like St. Vlad's so far?" Rhea asked.

"It's good. I'm looking forwards to Middle School Guardian Combat Techniques. Rose is teaching it, right?"

"Yeah," Dylan replied. "Rose's classes are the best. Guardian Combat and MGF are the two best classes. BTPP is the worst by far, though."

"What's BTPP?" I asked.

"Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection. Guardian Alto's so boring and he doesn't seem to like any of us very much," Tanya told me.

"You have me to blame for that," a voice said.

I turned and saw Rose standing at the end of the table. She was fairly sweaty and was wearing a pair of black exercise shorts and a red tank top.

"Why? You and Guardian Alto get along fairly well," Rhea said.

"We didn't have the best history when I was a student here," she smiled. "Anyways, Alex, your dad will talk to you about this later, but the rest of the gang and their parents are going to Missoula with me this weekend and I asked Dimitri if you guys and Tasha would want to come and he said that he could come with you but Tasha was busy. You in?"

"Uh, sure," I replied, slightly dumbfounded. She spoke to us with such casualty, and she always seemed so loose and easygoing, except for when she was fighting. That was when she started getting scary.

"Great! Okay guys, Alex is coming," she said, turning to the others. "Alex, do you want to room with your dad or with the guys?"

"I'll go with the guys," I told her. "So I'll be rooming with Mason, Dylan, and Andre, right?"

"Yup," she replied. "Oh- dammit!" she suddenly cursed.

"What?" Dylan asked. "Do we not have enough space?"

"No, that's fine, but it'll be two to a bed," she replied.

"Fine by me," Andre told her. "I can sleep with Dylan and Mason can sleep with Alex."

"Yeah, but now the adult rooms are messed up. Liss and Christian are in one room- because no one wants to room with them while they're trying to have another kid," she said wryly, "And Adrian and Sydney are together, then Mia's alone, and Eddie's with Jill, and I was going to have my own room. I would room with Mia, only I'm pretty sure that she's going to be… occupied… that night, as she usually is. I'll have to book another room for your dad, because I have a full bed in my room, so even if we were going to room together, one of us would be on the floor. Whatever, I'll talk to Dimitri about it," she said, half to herself. I was still astounded with how open she was with us- and how blunt she was talking about her friends' sexual activities, especially to kids our age (twelve).

I nodded. "YA uverena, chto papa ne budet vozrazhatʹ, spal na polu v komnate sprekrasnoy ledi , kak vy **(I'm sure that Papa won't mind sleeping on the floor in a room with a beautiful lady like you)**," I said, forgetting that Rose understood Russian.

**_A/N: Okay, a little chapter for you! I'm going to focus on this story right now, because I'm on a roll, but I'm sort of at a dead-end with Swords and Masks, so for those of you reading that, sorry._**

**_~42_**

**_PS, Alex is really smooth, isn't he?_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I've been busy with this and that, and you've heard this excuse millions of times so I'll spare you from the monotony of late updaters making up excuses. But yeah, I'm really sorry. :( _**

**_ Oh, and I have a weird disclaimer today. You get a RheaPOV today! Time to see inside her mind. *cue mystical music* I wrote the disclaimer a while ago, when the update was supposed to come, but I didn't finish the chapter. I seemed weirder than normal that day… maybe it was because of the no school/ Thanksgiving Break thing. I don't know._**

**Disclaimer: I own Vampire Academy! Mwahaha! **_*sees Dimitri and Rose come over with angry expressions. Nervously smiles.*_** Hey guys, what are you doing? Are you angry? What? At me? Oh, uh… **_*Dimitri prepares to beat my face in*_** OKAY, I DON'T OWN VA! **_*Dimitri relaxes and leaves with Rose.*_** Sheesh, that was close. Overreaction much?**

**Chapter Ten**

_RheaPOV_

Rose flushed red. "Spasibo za kompliment , ya dumayu **(Thanks for the compliment, I guess)**," she muttered, before leaving.

"Dude, what did you say to her?" Tanya asked. "She turned as red as a fire engine!"

"I said, 'I'm sure that Papa won't mind sleeping on the floor in a room with a beautiful lady like you,'" Alex mumbled. Dylan looked appalled while Mason and Andre wolf-whistled and Tanya smirked. I was really surprised.

"You do know that your dad and Rose used to go out, right?" I asked timidly, "That wasn't the most appropriate comment to make."

"I know, I wasn't thinking," Alex replied sheepishly. "I also forgot that she understood Russian."

Dylan laughed. "You know how your dad used to mentor Aunt Rose?" he asked. Alex nodded. "Well," Dylan continued, "apparently Guardian Belikov used to mutter a lot in Russian, and Aunt Rose used to beg him to teach her how to swear in Russian so that she could swear at Headmistress Kirova and Guardian Alto without getting in trouble, but he always refused. So apparently, after he went to guard your mom-"

"Tasha isn't my mother," Alex interjected.

"Whatever," Dylan said. "Anyways, after he went to guard _Tasha_, Mom told me that Aunt Rose started a Russian course online. Apparently, her exact words were, 'Well, the Russian God isn't here to stop me from learning to swear in a foreign language, and I might as well become bilingual while I'm at it.'"

The whole table erupted in laughter. I smiled. I'd heard this story from my parents a lot. Aunt Rose never really talked about it, though. We've only heard stories about Guardian Belikov through Mom (because he was supposed to be her guardian), Dad (because he guards his aunt), Aunt Mia (I don't know why), Uncle Eddie (I have no idea either), and Aunt Jill (she used to worship him or something). Uncle Adrian didn't talk about him too much (he apparently didn't like Guardian Belikov because they were rivals for Rose's love; funny how neither of them got her) and Aunt Sydney didn't even know him. She met Rose while she was Strigoi-hunting in Russia, a year after Guardian Belikov left.

Our little 'group' had the funniest and coolest stories. Like Rose's gap year between graduating and going to guard Lissa. Or the first attack on St. Vlad's when all of our parents were students except for Uncle Adrian and Aunt Sydney, and how Rose and Dad teamed up and took down more Strigoi than anyone else, and then how Rose rescued Guardian Belikov, Uncle Eddie, and a bunch of other captured Moroi and dhampirs afterwards single-handedly, and how Mom and Uncle Adrian managed to heal them all.

"Rose seems pretty amazing," Alex noted.

"She is!" I exclaimed suddenly. Aunt Rose used to help me manage and control my darkness. She helped me not feel insane. "Aunt Rose is the world's best guardian!"

"Maybe not _the_ best," Tanya said to many protests. "But definitely _one_ of the best," she corrected.

"I guess…" I admitted. "But who's better than her?"

"Maybe John Marx," Dylan said.

"Guardian Marx? He guards a Zeklos lord or something, right? Is it Dane or Jesse?" Andre asked. "Isn't he like, Guardian Belikov's age?"

"Yeah. He guards Dane Zeklos, you know, the decent one. You guys know Caden Zeklos, right? Dane's his dad. Apparently Guardian Marx is really nice. His scores from his time at a guardian academy were rivaling Rose's. I'd pay a lot of money to see those two spar," I smirked. It felt kind of funny. I didn't smirk much.

The others laughed at my attempt at a smirk. Everyone said that I took after my mother, only I had the ice-blue Ozera eyes instead of the Dragomir jade-green like my mom and Andre, and my mother was not known for being devious. That was Aunt Rose's job.

"Next time Caden's dad visits, we can ask Guardian Marx to spar with Aunt Rose!" Tanya exclaimed.

"Yeah, but the thing is, Caden's dad _doesn't _visit. Caden goes home to Massachusetts to visit his family, remember? Last year Uncle Eddie had to escort Caden to the airport, remember?" Andre pointed out.

"Why doesn't Dane Zeklos ever visit St. Vladimir?" Alex asked, confused.

"His older brother, Jesse Zeklos, that asshole, tortured our mom with magic and then Aunt Rose kind of beat him up and Dane is ashamed," Andre said. I grimaced. That was one of the not-so-awesome stories our families had. Mom had been tortured with magic countless times- twice when she was seventeen, three times the year before Andre and I were born, and five after our birth.

"Oh. Well, Caden seems nice. He was in my Moroi Culture and my Algebra classes. We sit next to each other in Algebra," Alex said.

"Caden _is _nice. So are his mom and his dad, according to the adults. _We _haven't actually met Dane Zeklos. Our parents have seen him at events and stuff, though. Apparently, he got the good genes and Jesse got the asshole ones," Dylan said loudly, "And he apparently passed those genes to his poor excuses for kids."

Heads from the tables around ours turned and I was suddenly so glad that Anton Zeklos (Jesse's oldest son who's our age) and his brother, Kyle, didn't sit near our table. Though it was true. Anton and Kyle were both assho- meanies. Anton always makes the dirtiest jokes and he always teases the non-royals and dhampirs, calling the dhampir girls bloodwhores and such. Kyle, though only ten, was following his brother's footsteps and was also insulting those they thought were of "lower rank" than themselves.

B-bas- gah, I can't say it. Not even in my brain. Well, I guess that for now, _meanies_ should suffice.

**_A/N: Well, sort of a useless chapter. As you can tell, Rhea is just like her mom, cute and innocent. Next update should come up sooner, I hope… :-/_**

**_~42_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N: So…_**

**_Hehehe… Long time no update._**

**_Sorry._**

**_I really don't have much to say in my defense. Life's getting… um… yeah I have nothing to say for myself. _**

**_Err… Happy New Year?_**

**_Oh yeah, so this may be contradicting what I said in my previous chapter(s), but the gang's leaving on Friday night so that they can have a full day of shopping on Saturday._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful series called Vampire Academy.**

**Chapter Eleven**

_Friday night…_

_DPOV_

I stood uncomfortably by the door as Rose made a little 'bed' on the floor with the extra pillows and blankets, as well as a few towels.

"Are you sure that you don't want to take the bed?" I asked her, "Because I'm fine with sleeping on the floor."

"No, it's fine," she insisted, "You can take the bed. The only reason why you don't have your own bed is because I was too cheap to book another room."

I sighed and tucked a stray hair that slipped from my ponytail behind my ear. "Are you sure?"

"Dimitri, stop asking me that. If you ask me that question one more time, I'll sleep in the bathtub," she warned, smiling a bit.

I chuckled. "The bathtub? Really?"

She shrugged. "I could." She finished up making the 'bed' and stood up. "There, done. You only get two pillows, though," she said apologetically.

"But I get the bed," I reminded her. "You could take all the pillows for all I care. I don't need them since I have the bed and the mattress."

She smiled. "Fine." She took her cell phone out from her pocket and checked the time. "It's 6:45 and we have a reservation at the Silver Steak House at 7:00," she told me, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "It's formal dress, so let me just get my change of clothes and I can change in the bathroom while you change out here."

I nodded. "Of course."

Rose walked over and grabbed a few clothes from her suitcase. I didn't see what exactly she picked up, though. She walked into the bathroom and I heard the click of the lock as the door closed.

I walked over to my own suitcase and got out a pair of black slacks, similar to the ones I wear while guarding. I also got a crimson red button-down shirt with a black suit jacket. So this was why Rose told me to pack formalwear. She also told us to dress in matching colors with our kids. After fifteen years, she's still crazy.

I checked my appearance in the full-length mirror on the closet door and took my hair down to neaten it and put it back up. I made sure that my collar was straight and I transferred my silver stake from my duster to the breast pocket of my suit jacket. I smiled to myself. The Silver Steak House. From what Rose told me in the car, it's a Moroi and dhampir restaurant, complete with feeders and guardians to protect against Strigoi.

I heard the bathroom door unlock with a click.

"Are you decent?" Rose asked softly.

"Yeah," I replied, turning around and casually putting my hands in my pockets.

The door opened and I saw Rose step out. There was a sharp intake of breath- one that I realized was mine. Her makeup was already on and she had smoky eyes and crimson lips. Similar to me, she was wearing a blood red blouse but she had a black knee-length skirt instead of pants. Her hair tumbled down around her shoulders, framing her (very beautiful) face.

"Roza," I breathed, not thinking, "You look… beautiful."

She blushed for the slightest fraction of a second before giving me a wry smile. "You too, Comrade," she said, ignoring the fact that I'd called her "Roza." "I can't believe you're wearing red as well."

"What does that matter?" I asked her. She didn't say anything. "Do you have your stake?" I asked her, remembering. I couldn't see any telltale lumps in her clothing, which was fairly skintight.

"Of course. Can you guess where?" she asked, smiling.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Can you tell me?"

"No."

I started to pout- just for a second. That's right. I, Dimitri Belikov, pouted, if only for a split second. Weirdest thing I've ever done. "Please?" I asked her.

"You can guess, and if you get it right, I'll tell you," she told me.

"But you have your stake, right?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Yes, Comrade. I have my badass silver stake to kill evil vampires with," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "Now let's go."

She grabbed a black leather jacket and opened the door. I caught it and held it open for her to go through.

"Still a gentleman, I see," I heard her mutter.

I smiled. "That I am," I replied softly.

I followed her down to the lobby, where the others were waiting. Christian had assured Rose that he would be fine fending off Strigoi for about five minutes while they waited for us. It took nearly an hour of debating, but Rose finally relented.

The others were all already there. I beamed when I saw Lyosha in his suit. He wore pretty much the same as me, only he had a black tie as well. I saw Rose squinting between us, and I swear that I heard her mutter, "I must be seeing double."

Vasilis- err, Lissa wore a shimmery metallic-y sort of jade green sleeveless dress with a white cardigan over it, matching her daughter, who wore nearly the exact same thing, while Christian wore the same as me, except with a royal blue shirt instead of red and Andre matched him but with a black tie as well. Edison had a dark purple shirt with a black bowtie, which Rose smiled at seeing. Jillian also wore a dress similar to her half-sister's, only it was long-sleeved. Their son, Mason, wore the same as Edison, only without the bowtie, and the shirt was unbuttoned a little more. Dylan Rinaldi wore a yellow shirt to match his mother's dress, and Adrian Ivashkov, of course, had a black suit with an emerald green dress shirt, which Tanya matched with, while Sydney wore a gold-colored dress.

Rose had told us to match each other based off of bloodline/family- and this was why. And this was probably also why she was so surprised as us two wearing the same color. It's like we're in the same family. Not that that's a bad thing… So to sum it up, Christian and Andre were in royal blue; Lissa, Jill, and Rhea were in jade green; Adrian was in emerald green; Dylan and Mia were in yellow; Edison and Mason were in purple; Sydney was in gold; and I, Alex, and Rose were in red.

"Are we ready to go?" Rose asked the princess.

"Yeah. I'm good," she replied.

Rose nodded and stepped outside and made a quick phone call. Moments later, a huge black stretch limo pulled in. Rose opened the door and ushered as all in before climbing in herself.

"You got us a limo. A freaking limo," Christian said dumbly.

"Hey, first gathering of the school year," Rose said. "Plus, we haven't seen Jill in a few months, and we haven't seen Dimitri for over a decade. And I wouldn't want Alex to think that I'm too cheap. I'm already forcing his dad to room with me," she joked lightheartedly.

"Please, Roza, I'm fine with sharing a room with you," I smiled.

Our giant group piled into the limo and I could hear Christian mutter, "God, Rose. What are you going to do next," while Adrian was murmuring, "This definitely beats Vegas."

Alex was really excited. It was his first time in a limo. He was chatting with Rose, talking so fast that it was hard to understand him. "Roza, eto yavlyayetsya udivitelʹnym! Yestʹ net remney bezopasnosti i sveta nastolʹko krasivaya imuzyki udivitelʹnym, i ya lyublyu eto delo tak sebe tak mnogo! Eto tak zdorovo i prosto epicheskaya ! Vy, rebyata yezdyat v limuzinakh mnogo? Bozhe, ty samyy klassnyy nastavnik nikogda **(Rose, this is awesome! There aren't any seatbelts and the lights are so pretty and the music's awesome and I love this thing so so so so much! It's so cool and just epic! Do you guys ride in limos a lot? God, you're the coolest mentor ever)!**" he chattered excitedly.

I could see Rose smiling and ruffling his hair. "Rad, chto vam nravitsya , malysh **(Glad you like it, kid)**," she replied, the foreign words rolling off her tongue effortlessly. God she was amazing.

The rest of the car ride went by in a blur. The kids were playing, the adults idly chatting about little things. I just sat by and watched everyone interact. I've caught up on a lot that I missed- it turns out that by now, pretty much everyone knew about Rose's relationship with me- and that we slept together…

Then, after graduation, Rose, who graduated at the top of her class with two molnija and a zveda, asked to be able to take a year off before she officially became Lissa's guardian. Somehow, Ellen and Alberta managed to pull some strings with the Queen and Rose got her gap year. In that time, she travelled around, mainly in Russia and Eastern Europe, hunting Strigoi- solo. In the twelve months that she was gone, she killed many Strigoi, the exact number, no one knows but her. To make up for it, she was given four zveda. After that, the name "Rosemarie Hathaway" became a symbol- of awe for Moroi and dhampirs- and of fear for Strigoi.

Then after her year off, she returned to guarding Lissa. That was when it was discovered that Jillian Mastrano was the secret illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir, and Lissa's half-sister, which fulfilled the Dragomir family quorum and allowed Lissa on the Council.

The car pulled up to the restaurant and Rose got out first, checking the surroundings before motioning for the others to come out, signaling Eddie and I to come out and keep watch, even though Rose's shadow-kissed abilities should warn us about any Strigoi before it's too late.

The Moroi and novices (and human) stepped out and filed into the restaurant, Rose at the lead, Eddie and I at the sides, and Christian in the rear.

Inside, the restaurant was elegantly decorated, with beautiful gold chandeliers, elaborately carved furniture, and of course, it smelled lovely. I looked at the staff and customers, and was not surprised that the human and Moroi customers seemed to have been seated in different sections.

Rose said something to the hostess and she nodded. "Your private room is upstairs. The other member has already arrived."

"Thank you."

I raised a brow and looked at Rose. "There's someone else?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Well, who?" I asked her.

"Just someone."

She didn't say anything else and I just let it be. I'll find out soon enough, anyway.

Our party went up the stairs, Rose at the head, me in the middle, and Eddie in the rear. We reached an elaborately carved door with a golden placard that said, "ROOM TWELVE," and below it, a sign that said, "RESERVED FOR DRAGOMIR."

Rose pushed the door open.

"Hey, Kiz," a man in a red and black pinstriped suit with a flashy white and black checkered scarf said.

"Hi, old man. Sorry we're late," Rose smiled.

The man came out of the shadows and I stiffened when I saw his face.

"Kakogo cherta ty zdesʹ delayeshʹ, Zmey **(What the fuck are you doing here, Zmey)**?"

**_A/N: Okay, so I know that I haven't updated in a while. T.T Sorry. But I believed that this chapter was EXTRA long. So that should make up for it, right?_**

**_Abe's here! Yay!_**

**_Well, I have school again tomorrow. Ugh, don't want to go. :P_**

**_Well, who knows when I'll update again. And yes, Swords and Masks is currently on hiatus. Sorry. I'm just out of ideas._**

**_~42_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_A/N: Okay, you get another update. Yay! Also, when I opened the document, I finally decided to spellcheck… I am so so so sorry. I didn't realize how many mistakes I made in the previous chapters. Hopefully, the future chapters will not be so messed up._**

**_By the way, did you know that "Olena" is not in the MS Word 2010 dictionary but "Olenek" is? Weird…_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA. I never will. *Sigh* However… *gets insane look in eyes* I DO OWN ALEX AND DYLAN AND RHEA (Dragomir) AND ANDRE (Dragomir II) AND TANYA AND MASON (Castile) SO HA! THEY ARE MINE!**

**Chapter Twelve**

_DPOV_

"Hello, Belikov. Long time no see. Last time I saw you, you were a little boy _this _big," he smirked, placing his hand about four and a half feet off the ground. "You've grown up. I heard that you ran your dad out of town. Good for you. He deserved that."

I scowled. "You knew for years and never did anything about it," I said, gritting my teeth. "If I hadn't done something, he would still be beating the shit out of my mother."

"Yes, I'm sorry for Olena. However, I had my own issues to worry about at that time. I would've stepped in if things got too serious. I had men keeping watch just in case if Sergey **_(A/N: It's a Russian name that I never particularly liked, so I'm using it for Dimitri's father.)_** stepped across the line," he said flippantly.

I scowled. "You don't call my mother's body literally being completely black and blue 'serious'?"

"She could still walk, couldn't she?"

The rest of the room was silent. No one was sure what to say.

"Why is this _monster _here anyway?" I asked, turning to Roza.

"Err, yeah, about that. Dimitri, this is Ibrahim Mazur, my father. Abe, this is Dimitri Belikov, my ex-mentor from St. Vlad's," she said, awkwardly introducing us. "Of course, you two seem to already know each other…"

Wait, what?

I looked from Zmey to Rose, trying to see a resemblance. Now that I looked closely, they had the same hair. And complexion. And sarcastic manner.

"Can I trust you two to be civil towards each other?" Rose sighed. "This is a _nice _and _friendly _get-together."

I clenched my fist and nodded. "Yes."

Zmey smirked. "Of course, _kiz_."

Rose nodded. "Then let us all sit down and _enjoy _the rest of our dinner, shall we?"

**_A/N: Okay, so REALLY short chapter. But I wanted to let you guys see how Dimitri reacted to Abe. _**

**_Until next update,_**

**_~42_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_A/N: I'm really sorry for not updating as much as I promised in the beginning. I know that it seems like I've fallen off the face of the Earth at times- and I know how frustrating that is. I feel it all the time when my favorite authors don't update for a while._**

**_But, for those of you who are also authors, you know how hard it is to try to update on a regular basis, and for those of you still in school, you know that it's even harder. So I apologize for my hectic life and my lack of updates. But, good news is that this weekend, I'm going to have quite a few hours to kill on a plane, so maybe I can write a few chapters. Maybe._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA. I know that I used to say that I wished that I did, but then I realized that if I did, it wouldn't be as epic.**

**Chapter Thirteen**

_RPOV_

The rest of dinner went on without a hitch. Everyone was happy to be together, and Alex got assimilated into the crowd very quickly. Unlike his father, the Antisocial God, he seemed to be quite open. Nice to know that at least one of the Belikov men didn't wear that freaking guardian mask all the time.

Dimitri and Abe were behaving. They still shot each other dirty looks, but at least they were civil. Right after their… argument, I heard Alex lean over and whisper, "Papa, eto ne khorosho rugatʹsya **(Dad, it's not nice to swear)**," which made me smile. Such a cute kid.

"So, what was it like growing up in Russia? Was it cold? Did you have to fight polar bears every morning to get to school? Or better yet, did polar bears have to fight you?" Andre asked, smirking.

Alex looked confused. "What?"

I chuckled. "It's a joke," I explained. "Basically, in Soviet Russia, everything is backwards, so you'd say, 'In Soviet Russia, polar bears fight you!' instead of, 'You fight polar bears.'"

"Oh," Alex said. "Then can I say, 'In Soviet Russia, Moroi come after you'?"

"Erm, I guess," I replied awkwardly. I'd accepted my place as a dhampir, but _They come first _was still somewhat of a touchy subject.

"Anyways, I love Baia! The climate's just that the climate here in Montana, and I had so many friends! And I had all of my family so close to me- like my favorite cousin, Paul! He's twelve years older than me and he's super cool. He's an awesome guardian, too!" Alex gushed.

"Speaking of Paul," Dimitri spoke up. "He's coming to the States to be reassigned. I'm pretty sure that you well get the pleasure of assigning him a charge," he said, turning to me.

"Is he Pavel Valentin Belikov?" I asked Dimitri.

"Yes," he replied. "'Pavel' is the Russian equivalent of 'Paul', so that's what's officially on his birth certificate. His middle name's 'Valentin.'"

"Yeah," Alex butted in, "He doesn't like it when people call him 'Pavel', though. He punches people who call him that."

I smiled. "Really? So, Alex, would your cousin prefer to guard a male Moroi or a female Moroi?"

"Hmm, I want to say female, because Paul is a, uh, _lovelas _**(ladies' man)**, but I think that it would distract him too much, so it'll be better to assign him to a male," Alex said, furrowing his brow as he thought.

I nodded. "A guy it is, then."

_APOV (Alex) __**(I had a special request!)**_

I was so excited that Paul was coming to America! Maybe he'd come to Montana, and then we could hang out together and he could tell me how to get all the girls, like he did when we were in Russia.

The adults started talking about boring stuff- Moroi politics. Something about Jesse Zeklos cheating on his wife and getting another dhampir pregnant- what is this, the fourth one? Some Royals have no respect for women. Dad taught me all about respecting them. He made it clear that if I ever mistreated one, he might break his promise of never hitting me. And then he'll disinherit me. And then he'll throw me out onto the streets penniless.

The kids, on the other hand, were placing bets on whether or not John Marx could beat Rose. I had no doubt in my mind that Rose would win, but then again, I didn't know this John Marx guy. I should ask Papa about him.

"Ten bucks on Marx," Dylan said loudly.

"Seriously? Fifty on Hathaway," Andre countered.

"Twenty on draw," Rhea said quietly.

"Thirty on Hathaway," Mason declared.

"Ten on Hathaway," Tanya added.

They all looked towards me. "What about you, Alex," Andre asked.

"I don't know this John Marx guy, so I can't bet," I explained sheepishly. "By the way, why are the Zekloses so mean over here? My dad's former charge was Ivan Zeklos, and Papa said that he was very nice and funny. And I had a friend at St. Basil's who was a Zeklos, and he was nice."

"Who knows," Andre shrugged. "And it's not all of them. Dane and Caden are both pretty nice. I'll have to introduce you to Caden. Officially, that is. I know that you have classes together, but yeah."

"Really? Thanks," I smiled. "Wait, does Caden have an official guardian yet?"

"No. Right now his dad's guardians guard him," Mason said. "Why?"

"Because," I said, "My cousin, Paul, is coming to America to be assigned to a Royal, only he hasn't been assigned yet. If he was assigned to Caden, then Caden would have a guardian and Paul would be at St. Vlad's every day! Paul's awesome," I added. "He's a really good guardian. Not as good as Rose, but really good all the same."

"Well, I guess you could ask Rose," Rhea said uncertainly, "But minors don't usually get guardians until they're of age."

"She could make an exception, right? Plus, didn't you say that we should preserve the good Zeklos line?"

Mason and Andre laughed at this. "Sounds good, Alex!" Mason laughed.

I was going to say more but then our food got here. And boy, was I hungry!

**_A/N: So, you guys want Paul in the story? God, he'd be so old (most sources say that he was 8-10 in VA, and this takes place 15 years later, so Paul would be 24 is he was nine, which is how old I will make him. o.O). Please tell me in a review. If the majority say yes, I'll put him in, if they say no, I won't. If no one tells me their opinion, then I kill off Alex next chapter (just kidding, I won't do that. But seriously, please tell me if you want Paul!). _**

**_I don't know what my odd intrigue with the Zeklos family is. Maybe it's just that I want to make sure that not all the Zekloses are assholes._**

**_Also, just wondering, while you guys are telling me whether or not you want Paul in the story, how old would you think that I am? Just wondering. I know that I haven't (nor will I ever) give my age, but still. _**

**_~42_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/N: As of today (2/16/13), all of you but one have voted "Yes" for Paul's appearance. You may expect him in a few chapters, most likely soon after the gang returns to St. Vlad's. I've read many of your suggestions to Paul's character, and I will try to have him meet your expectations. And to _****Dimka's chick ****_(who voted no to Paul). I promise that I will try not to let him take away from Rose and Dimitri._**

**_Also, I reposted Ch. 2 because I realized that I wanted to change Alex's birthday. It is no long December 14_****_th_****_, it's August 16_****_th_****_. The reason will be in this chapter. There are no other changes, except for a few minor spelling corrections._**

**Disclaimer: Vampire Academy and its plot, characters, settings, and anything else does not belong to me. Alex does, though! And Andre (Jr.)! And Mason (Jr.)! And Rhea (Jr.)! And Dylan! And Tanya! And all the other kids!**

_*****NEW***  
I totally blanked out when I was writing this. VASILISA DRAGOMIR IS NOT QUEEN, DESPITE WHAT I WROTE IN THE FIRST VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER. I screwed up, and I'm really sorry. Thank you so much **_**jpitt _for pointing it out. Tatiana Belikov is still alive and well and queen. Again, I'm so sorry. If there's anything else wrong, tell me RIGHT AWAY. (Review or PM)_**

**_~42_**

**Chapter Fourteen**

_DPOV_

Dinner was delicious, and I was glad to see Lyosha make friends with the other children. I managed to learn a lot more about how the others fared during my time away. I already knew about Rose's year off hunting Strigoi, but I learned even more.

After she discovered that Jill was a Dragomir, Jill was immediately sent off to Palm Springs to hide while Lissa worked to try to convince the Council to repeal the quorum law that had barred her from representing her family. Sydney Sage (who is an Alchemist), Adrian Ivashkov, and Eddie Castile were sent with her. Soon enough (well, ten months later), she was able to repeal the law and Jill was allowed to return to St. Vladimir's to finish her last year- and began going out with Eddie Castile.

Then, about two years later, the gang started having babies.

Joy, oh joy.

Christian and Lissa were the first- Andre Dragomir II was born at 2:08PM on November 13th, and Rhea Dragomir was born at 6:12PM the same day. Next was Mia- Dylan Rinaldi was born at 8:25AM on December 7th, less than a month later. The next year, Mason Castile was born on April 10th at 5:18AM, then Tanya Ivashkov on August 23rd at 2:12PM. Alex was the youngest- his birthday was August 16th, but I don't know what time. **_(A/N: BTW, all of the birthdates/times are dates that VA/ Bloodlines books were released!)_**

Soon after the Dragomir twins were born, Lissa and Adrian were offered spots teaching spirit at St. Vlad's, and Rose was offered a job teaching Combat. Of course, Lissa frequently had to return to Court for Council meetings, and there were multiple Strigoi attacks- not just small encounters but large, full scale attacks like the one on St. Vlad's all those years ago.

Ten years later, Queen Tatiana started the MGF program at St. Vlad's to try it out and put Rose and Christian in charge. Now, they need more instructors- right now they have Christian for fire, Mia and Jill for water, Lissa and Adrian to teach spirit, and Rose and Eddie for novices. There were no earth or air teachers yet, but Rose was able to adequately instruct the Moroi who specialized in those two elements. Now, Tasha is joining the fire team. Sadly, most Moroi who have specialized in air and earth don't want to teach MGF and most are still against offensive magic, and the ones who are interested are too young. Bummer.

So then, MGF program started, and then that brings us almost up to present day. Of course, there were a few more attacks- including the one that killed Guardian Croft, which made Rose the new head. And then, so there we are. Present day.

We stayed at the restaurant hours after we finished our food. I knew that the only reason why the restaurant staff didn't kick us out was because Lissa was the Dragomir princess who had a lot of influence on the Queen, so no one wanted to anger her. Plus, Rose was in charge of guardian assignments, so if the Moroi owners sent their guardians, they'd find themselves lacking their guards, who will end up filing documents at Court, like Mikhail did for so long.

"Hey Rose."

Rose and I stopped talking and she turned to Lissa. "What's up, Liss?"

"I need blood. Can you come with me to the feeders?"

Rose nodded and got up from her seat, following Vasilisa into the back room, where the feeders were.

_RPOV_

I followed Lissa to the feeders. The dhampir at the front bowed when he saw Lissa.

"Princess Dragomir," he murmured. "The first feeder on your left."

"Thank you, err-"

"- Guardian Kelly, Your Highness," he said.

"Thank you, Guardian Kelly."

We walked over to the feeder's err- stall, and there was a human girl inside who was about sixteen or seventeen. My eyes darkened slightly. Most likely, this girl accidentally stumbled upon a few Moroi or dhampirs, or maybe even a Strigoi, and refused to get her memory wiped, so her only other option was to become a feeder.

Her eyes were clouded, probably still on an endorphin high, and her neck was covered in bite marks- healed and bloody. I cringed and saw Lissa sigh.

_Butterflies and rainbows and laughter and fun and sunshine and ponies and unicorns and happiness and…_

Before I knew it, all these thoughts suddenly flooded my head through the bond, along with a feeling of good, comfortable warmth. Seconds later, I felt the darkness seep in and I concentrated and forced it into a corner of my mind, where I kept the rest of my darkness that I hadn't used yet.

She healed the girl.

I sighed. Whenever Lissa saw a feeder in bad shape- a.k.a. all the feeders not owned by St. Vlad's or Court- she always felt the need to heal them. I agreed with some of them- I mean, sure, heal them if they're suffering from blood loss or have scabby wounds all over their neck, but sometimes she goes too far. But this girl deserved it. Maybe Lissa should just wipe her memory and then send her back to her old life.

The girl's eyes opened for a moment and she saw Lissa.

"What'd you just do to me?" she demanded. "Why'd you take away the high?"

Lissa just sighed. "I healed you," she said simply. "You were bleeding all over the place. I didn't want you to pass out from blood loss."

"Whatever, just drink from me again," the feeder groaned, baring her neck which was now healed. Lissa shook her head wearily and bit down.

I didn't watch. I never enjoyed watching Liss feed, and I wasn't about to start now.

I knew that she was done when a slightly sated feeling came through the bond.

"Ready?" I asked her.

"Yup. All set," she replied, licking a tiny drop of blood from her lips. I cringed. Despite growing up with it and having taken a part of it myself, feeding made me woozy.

I followed Lissa out of the room and we walked back to the table. I had just sat down when I felt nausea in my stomach.

I pulled over a waiter. "Excuse me, sir, but are there wards around this restaurant?"

"I believe so, Guardian," he replied.

I nodded and brushed the feeling off as nothing.

Moments later, there was a crash as glass windows shattered and a human shrieked.

My dhampir hearing picked out a boy- maybe eighteen or nineteen- suddenly protest. "Hey, I thought you guys were going to make me immortal!"

"Not today, buddy," a distant cold voice said and I heard a snap of a neck and saw ten big, looming forms made their way into the restaurant.

Of course it was something.


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N: Sorry for the late update (again)! My teachers decided that since we just had a break two weeks ago, they'd decide to dump all of their tests and quizzes on us once we came back, so last week I had seven quizzes and tests (maybe more, I lost count) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. _**

**Disclaimer: Not my series. I did not write VA or Bloodlines, and all I own is the plotline of this story, Alex, Andre Jr., Rhea, Mason, Dylan, and Tanya.**

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Previously…_

_I pulled over a waiter. "Excuse me, sir, but are there wards around this restaurant?"_

_"I believe so, Guardian," he replied._

_I nodded and brushed the feeling off as nothing._

_Moments later, there was a crash as glass windows shattered and a human shrieked._

_My dhampir hearing picked out a boy- maybe eighteen or nineteen- suddenly protest. "Hey, I thought you guys were going to make me immortal!"_

_"Not today, buddy," a distant cold voice said and I heard a snap of a neck and saw ten big, looming forms made their way into the restaurant._

_Of course it was something._

_RPOV_

I sighed. I knew that I shouldn't have trusted restaurant security with Strigoi. Even though Jill is also a Dragomir, and Lissa has two Dragomir kids, I guess the novelty of killing off the former "last Dragomir" hasn't worn off yet, and Strigoi are still attracted to Liss like flies to honey.

I saw Eddie, Jill, Adrian, Dimitri, and Christian get up from their seats and I turned to Christian.

"You up for this, Sparky?" I asked casually.

"Why not? What's the plan?"

"Hmm, I don't know. You want to have some fun, or just get this over with?" I said, to Dimitri's horror.

"What do you mean, 'have some fun'?" he demanded. "Is the Princess's safety a joke to you? Is everyone's safety a joke? There are ten Strigoi here, Rose. Ten big, old Strigoi."

"Relax, Belikov," Eddie smirked. "Rose is _more _than ready to handle these big babies. In fact," he added, sitting down, "I think I'll just watch."

"Yeblya derzkim ublyudki **(Fucking cocky bastards)**," Dimitri swore.

"Papa!" Alex admonished. I couldn't help but smile. _Bad Dimitri, setting a bad example for your kids._

Meanwhile, the Strigoi decided to walk over. Their appearances sickened me. Pale, chalky skin, blood red eyes. Disgusting.

"Ah, Guardian Hathaway. I thought I might see you here," one said. I bristled. I knew this Strigoi. He was the only one I ever let off- and I lived to regret it. Meet Leopold, a guardian-turned-Strigoi from the 17th Century. Last time I saw him, he was a part of a huge clan- and he was one of the weaker and lower-ranked, so I let him off in pity. I know I should've killed him, but seriously, the other bastards sent him out as bait to lure us into their hideout and then decided to tie him up in a room with a lot of windows so that if we didn't kill him, the sun would. I mean, these guys should at least have a fighting chance. Of course, after I let him off, he decided to repay me by killing half of my dad's guardians. Not cool.

"Leo," I acknowledged. I turned around. "Guys, I think I'll have some fun. You guys all just sit down and watch the show."

Everyone listened, except for Dimitri. "What? Rose, you can't possibly be serious!"

"Comrade, you don't know me."

I took a deep breath and drew the darkness that I'd been saving. I could feel it taking effect, enhancing my reflexes, making me stronger, faster. I turned to the Strigoi.

"Who's first?"

_DPOV_

I clenched my jaw. "Rose can't handle this, can she?"

Eddie laughed. "Belikov, remember when she handed you your ass the other day in the gym? Well she's going to do that to these Strigoi, but with a lot more pain on the side."

I scowled. "You guys seem a bit too confident that Rose will win."

"You've missed a lot in the last fifteen years."

I honestly have no idea why I listened to Castile, but I sat down. But the moment Roza gets in trouble, I swear, I'm jumping in and then beating the hell out of Castile.

Of course I wouldn't have to.

In the eight seconds that elapsed while Castile and I were talking, somehow, Rose took down two of the Strigoi.

She wasn't even breathing hard. In fact, Eddie was right- she looked like she just knocked down two paper cups, not staked two Strigoi.

I watched, completely mesmerized by her fluid actions, her strength and speed inhuman- in-dhampir, even.

It was all a blur. Flurries of limbs punching, kicking, a flash of a stake. The fall of a body.

I heard Lyosha mutter, "Bozhe moy, ona yavlyayetsya bogom **(Oh my god, she is a god)**." I couldn't help but remember when that was what the novices all thought of me. But Rose… she's definitely surpassed me in every way.

In less than three minutes, the Strigoi were all dead, and Rose was standing in the middle of the bodies, breathing almost normally. Fighting the ten Strigoi had taken as much of a toll on her as running half a mile would.

She cracked a smile. "So, dessert, anyone?" As if nothing had just happened.

Sydney Sage tossed her a vial of some sort of Alchemist powder, which Rose sprinkled on the bodies, which just vaporized. She tossed the vial back to the Alchemist, who tucked it back into her purse. "I think we'll pass," she replied. "We have a full day of shopping tomorrow, and I don't want the kids to be too tired."

Rose nodded and I noticed her right hand (which was holding the stake) disappear up underneath her dress for a moment before emerging, stake-less. Hmm, so that's where she keeps her stake. Strapped to her inner thigh. Didn't see that one coming.

But then again, this is Rose; _anything _can happen.

_RPOV_

The Strigoi were stupid. Just a nuisance, really. There was no way that they could've escaped, the idiots. I thought that the rumors of my skill had already reached every coven, but apparently, there are still some numbskulls who don't believe them. Oh well, their deaths, I suppose.

Honestly, though. These guys should practice more. Their moves were practically all in slow motion- fighting them was just too easy. I mean, sure, I had the darkness help me, but still. Strigoi are supposed to be stronger and faster than dhampirs, darkness or not.

I tucked my stake back into its little spot strapped to my thigh and sighed. "No dessert, then. I guess we'll pay the bill and go home."

"Dinner's on me, kiz," Abe said, flashing a smile at me. I nodded. I'd protest if it was anyone else, but the old man's got _really _deep pockets.

"_He's _paying?" Dimitri asked, annoyed.

"Yeah. I mean, he's got the money, so, you know…" I replied.

"Yeah, but where's the money _from_?" he grumbled.

Abe laughed. "Don't worry, Belikov! I assure you, this money was obtained 100% legally," he smirked.

Dimitri grumbled- something about how Zmey couldn't know the definition of "legal". I frowned. Sure, the old man basically controlled everything mob-related in Turkey and Russia, and he had significant influence on other mobs worldwide, but he still had a legitimate business that raked in money.

I waved a waiter over and asked for the check. Moments later, he returned and Abe just handed his credit card over without even looking at the bill. Freaking rich mobster. He makes Bill Gates look like a third-world hobo.

The waiter returned and everyone started getting up to pile back into the limo to return to the hotel.

_APOV (Alex)_

My mentor is completely badass. I could see little bits of her style that were similar to Papa's, but she's just amazing. I was worried at first, but she took those Strigoi down so easily, it was like beating up novices to her.

The car ride back to the hotel was relatively short. Everyone was talking about the Strigoi attack. Rose was on the phone most of the time, reporting the attack to the Queen, most likely. I heard her groan and say something about it being her weekend-off and how she shouldn't have to fill out paperwork.

Meanwhile, us kids discussed the trip tomorrow.

"Alex, which stores do you want to go to tomorrow?" Andre asked. "We've taken trips like these before- usually the kids go off together with a guardian and the grown-ups go off on their own."

"I don't know," I replied. "I don't know the stores here in the US very well."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that the girls want to go to Aeropostale and Hollister and stuff- we can get clothes there- and maybe we could drag them to Game Stop or something. I know that Tanya won't mind," he told me.

"I'm good with anywhere," I told him.

"I wanna go to Target!" Rhea said. Whoa, since when did she talk so loudly?

"Meh, okay," Andre replied. "You girls can look at your girl stuff while us guys can go look at games and electronics, I guess."

"What do you mean, _girl stuff_?" Tanya asked menacingly.

"Nothing, it's just that, ah-"

I tuned out of the conversation as Tanya started accusing Andre of being a sexist pig.

We arrived at the hotel again really quickly and we all filed out of the limo. Dylan, Andre, Mason, and I raced to our room, eager to get all the formal stuff off.

Our room was a flurry of ties, dress shirts, and slacks being taken off and strewn about, and we all changed into more comfortable clothing- t-shirts and sweatpants.

I put on a plain black t-shirt and gray sweatpants and saw the others had all changed into similar sleepwear. We all rushed to brush our teeth and then we all gathered in the middle of the room.

"So, what do you guys want to do now?" Dylan asked.

"We could go to bed," I suggested. The idea was immediately shot down.

"Really, Alex?" Mason asked. "We're not going to sleep until Rose comes and bangs on the door, telling us it's lights out."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Andre got up to get it to see Rose at the door. Her hair was wet from a shower and she was already in her pajamas.

"Guys, it's almost midnight. Go to bed now. Lights out. I'm in the room next door and if I hear _any _noise at all, I will kick down the door and the offending child will sleep in the bathtub of my room."

We all nodded and she left.

"Goodnight," she smiled before she closed the door.

We all scrambled into bed, afraid of what the lady would do to us if we stayed up.

_RPOV_

I returned to the room I was sharing with Dimitri and I swiped the keycard and opened the door, only to find Dimitri shirtless with only a towel around his waist. Apparently, he decided to come out of the shower while I was telling the kids to go to sleep.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat. He looked up and saw me.

"Oh, Roza, I didn't know you'd be back so soon," he said. There was an awkward silence. "I'll go back to the bathroom to ah get dressed. Um, sorry."

He quickly grabbed his clothes and went back into the bathroom. I sighed and plugged my phone into its charger and put it on the desk, where Dimitri already had his. The bathroom door opened a few moments later to reveal Dimitri- still shirtless- but just in a pair of black and red boxers.

"Sorry, I uh, usually only sleep in my boxers," he told me apologetically.

"No problem. If it makes you feel any better, I usually sleep in an oversized t-shirt and panties. I thought that I'd add the sweatpants for your benefit," I replied.

"Right."

We just stood there, not sure what to say.

"Um, do you want me to put on a shirt, or-?"

"Nah, it's fine."

I have to admit, even at thirty-nine, Dimitri still looked very fine. He was just as well-muscled as he'd been fifteen years ago- not ripped in a body-builder way, but with well-defined muscle, just not overly so. He still looked really hot.

"So, um, I guess I'll go turn off the lights and we can go to sleep?" I said, almost like a question.

"Sure."

Dimitri went to go climb into the bed and I turned off the lights before climbing into my own floor-bed.

We were both silent and still. Then, I heard Dimitri speak.

"Goodnight, Roza."

"Goodnight, Comrade."

**_A/N: I'm really sorry about the lameness of the fight scene. I suck at writing them. For those of you who didn't get it (which should be very few), Rose basically stores up all the darkness she gets from Lissa and then whenever she needs it (sparring, Strigoi, etc.), she uses it to boost her strength, speed, and stamina._**

**_Anyways, sorry again for the late update and lame fight._**

**_~42_**


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: Hehehe… Long time no see? *Hides behind Dimitri* I, err- was busy, and updating fanfics just sort of slipped from my mind. Sorry.**_

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Richelle Meade? Sorry. I only own the kids. :)**

**Chapter Sixteen**

_DPOV_

I lay in my bed and stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. I could tell that Roza was the same way from her breathing. We both stayed silent, ignoring each other's presence.

Finally, Rose spoke. "Dimitri, why did you come back?"

I startled. "Well," I began, "Queen Tatiana offered Tasha a place in the MGF Program, and we figured it would be a good opportunity for Alexei to come study at St. Vladimir's, so he could be with his cousins."

I could almost hear Rose frown. "Yeah, but why did _you_ come back?"

"I'm Tasha's guardian, aren't I?"

"So? She doesn't need a guardian at St. Vlad's. The school wasn't in need of any more guardians to teach or guard, and Alex could've come alone, like most of the students. Why did you have to come?"

_You,_ I thought. _I wanted to see you again._

"I wouldn't want to abandon my charge," I said instead.

"Hmm. Makes sense."

There was another awkward pause.

"Dimitri, who's Alex's mother?"

I stiffened. Bozhe moy **(My god)**, first Alex and now Roza. "One-night stand," I said curtly, not wanting to elaborate.

"So, not Tasha?"

I swear I heard a bit of relief in her voice.

"No, not Tasha," I replied. I thought that I heard a tiny, "Thank god," but I wasn't sure.

I heard her chuckle. "Didn't think you were the type to go out drinking and then take a girl home," she joked, "Didn't your mother make sure that you always respected your women and such?"

I scowled. "I did! It's not like I just used her," I argued.

"So, how'd you knock her up?"

"Alexei was… special," I said carefully.

"What do you mean?"

"He got through the condom… and the pill."

"I always knew he was a fighter," I heard Rose laugh.

I chuckled as well. I missed her laugh so much.

The room was silent, and a few minutes later, I could hear Rose snoring softly.

I got out from my bed and walked slowly towards Rose. I knew that she was a light sleeper, so I carefully lifted her up and laid her on the bed, tucking the covers over her. I flushed a bit when I realized that she'd kicked her sweatpants on and was only in a t-shirt and underwear. That woman…

I took her place on the floor and curled up in the blankets, breathing in her smell as it washed over me, lulling me to sleep.

_RPOV_

I felt the light beating in from my eyelids and opened my eyes. The floor was a lot more comfortable than I expected.

Suddenly, I realized that I was in a bed, and scowling, checked the floor. Yup, Dimitri was sleeping there, though he looked a little cold. The bastard switched places with me after I fell asleep. I sighed and got out of bed, then realizing I wasn't wearing pants, pulled the covers off of Dimitri and saw my grey sweatpants where I kicked them off last night. I slipped them back on and then picked Dimitri up and brought him back to the bed. He agreed that he'd be on the bed and I'd be on the floor.

I checked my watch and saw that it was only four in the morning. I could still sleep.

I crawled back into the floor-bed, finding it extremely uncomfortable after spending most of the night in the bed. After a few minutes of shifting around, I finally gave up. I got out of the covers. I looked at the soft bed. Dimitri was snoring gently, his hair loose. I really wanted to sleep more, but I couldn't fall asleep unless I was on the bed. But if I crawled in with Dimitri, he'd probably take it the wrong way and think that I was some sort of slut wanting to sleep with him.

I sighed and decided that having a bad reputation was better than going without sleep and got in between the covers with Dimitri, curling up into a ball on the opposite side of the bed.

_DPOV_

When I woke up, the first thing I smelled was jasmine. My face was tickled by something soft- hair, I think, and there was something small and warm nestled against my chest. I opened my eyes and saw someone curled up against me. Not just anyone. Rose.

I tried to remember what happened last night. We got back to the hotel from the restaurant, Rose and I talked about Alex's conception, I tucked Rose into bed and went to sleep on the floor. So how did I get in bed with Rose?

Rose was sleeping peacefully, her body soft and warm against mine. I checked my watch and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head. Six thirty. I usually got up around five to go to the gym, five thirty at the latest. And judging by the week I've been back, Rose had a similar schedule.

I gently nudged her awake, her eyelids fluttering open before closing again.

"Mm, not yet, Liss," she murmured, half asleep, "My pillow's really comfy." She curled closer into my chest and I stiffened for a moment before relaxing.

"Roza, get up," I said, nudging her again. This time she opened her eyes long enough to take in her surroundings. Her eyes widened when she saw how close she was to me and she quickly rolled away and got up.

"Err- sorry, Dimitri," she said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to get that close to you. I was originally on the other side of the bed."

I laughed. "It's fine, Roza," I said. "I was just waking you because it's pretty late. It's six-thirty already."

"Six-thirty! Dammit," she cursed, "I still need to do my usual morning work out!"

"I was thinking along the same lines. Do you want to go check out the hotel's gym with me?"

"Of course. Whoever bench-presses the most weight gets twenty bucks from the loser," she taunted.

"You really think you're stronger than me?" I asked dubiously.

"Oh, I know I am."

_**A/N: I know that this chapter was short. Hopefully it was satisfying for you guys. **_

_**Also, I really hate to do this, but I'm putting Swords and Mask on hold. I've just had absolutely no ideas for it whatsoever, so for those of you who read it, sorry.**_

_**~42**_


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